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A plan to decide on the merger of NextEra and Dominion Energy in South Carolina by late January 2027 received unanimous approval Tuesday from the S.C. Public Service Commission, despite a flurry of pleas to hold off on establishing the deadline.
Read more PSC backs Dominion and NextEra on plan to decide megamerger by early 2027 in SC
Setting a date of Jan. 29, 2027, to decide on the megamerger raised flags among public interest groups that said South Carolina should not hamstring itself with a hard deadline because the proposed merger is complex and needs careful scrutiny.
But the commission moved forward with the plan Tuesday, voting unanimously — and without discussion — to set the Jan. 29 date for a final decision, as supported by the energy companies.
The commission, however, voted to allow interested parties to appeal to extend the schedule “for good cause,’’ according to a motion submitted by Commissioner Delton Powers.
“This schedule provides all parties with adequate opportunity to meaningfully participate in this proceeding,’’ Powers said, reading his motion.
Groups urging the PSC not to set a deadline for a vote in January included the Southern Environmental Law Center, the Sierra Club, the S.C. Small Business Chamber of Commerce, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, the S.C. Coastal Conservation League and the Appleseed Legal Justice Center.
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Many submitted requests this week to not set the schedule. They argued that customers could be hurt — possibly through higher power bills — if the PSC doesn’t grant ample time to consider the request by Dominion and NextEra. The merger would create a massive utility serving some 10 million customers from Virginia, the Carolinas and Florida.
Utilities’ commissions in North Carolina and Virginia also must vote on whether to approve the merger. Virginia is discussing getting rid of state deadline because of complexities in the merger. Critics said South Carolina should wait on making a decision until after Virginia and North Carolina make theirs.
Kate Mixson, an attorney for the law center, said she was disappointed in the commission’s vote. While it does leave open the door to appeal to extend the deadline, Mixson said that would be a major challenge without additional information the commission is not aware of.
“We provided good enough information to extend the deadline already,’’ she said. “Generally, we are disappointed. This is a serious decision and six months is too short of a time to make sure this gets the thorough review it deserves.’’
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This is a breaking news story. It will be updated.